“You want a personality match and at our heart and soul we’re still a young company,” she says.

A series of factors led the five-year-old upstart to seek PR support now. Not only has there been tremendous interest around the capabilities of 3D printing, MakerBot announced three new products coming to market at CES in January. It is also making a stronger push around telling its customer stories.

“The inbound is also overwhelming,” adds Howard, who MakerBot’s solo PR practitioner. While the company grew its marketing staff recently, most of those resources went towards overall marketing strategy and for digital marketing projects. MakerBot also works with a digital marketing shop on a project basis.

Overall, the MakerBot team has grown to 500 employees — more than a 200% expansion in 16 months. Last summer, industry leader Stratasys bought MakerBot in deal that’s expected to bring 3D printing to the masses by combining MakerBot’s more affordable offerings with Stratsys’ higher-end professional grade printers. Even so, MakerBot retains its own brand and management and operates as a subsidiary.